POINTING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION: Jeremy Lin has been solid for the Rockets since leaving the Knicks in the offseason, but Raymond Felton (pictured), driving to the basket against Tony Parker and the Spurs Thursday night, has been even better this season. (
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Jeremy who?
Raymond Felton has made Knicks fans forget Jeremy Lin very quickly. That was his aim on Day 1 when he said he had a “big, big chip on my shoulder’’ to prove last season’s nightmare in Portland was an aberration and he was a worthy Lin successor.
So far, mission accomplished. Felton, in his second Knicks stint, has been the point-guard engine boosting the team to a record-setting 6-0 start before last night’s 105-95 loss in Memphis.
“I still got [the chip],’’ Felton told The Post. “I ain’t shown nothing yet. This is just the beginning. I’m not satisfied. We’re just 6-0. There’s still a lot of basketball to be played. I want to continue to get better. The chip is still here. It ain’t going nowhere.’’
Neither is Lin in Houston, where he has played well enough. But Felton has done what Linsanity never could do in New York: earn the respect of the Knicks roster from top to bottom, from Steve Novak to Carmelo Anthony — who couldn’t accept Lin. Even one of Lin’s greatest fans, Tyson Chandler, has spoken of how much more polished Felton is at this stage of his career than Lin, the 24-year-old global icon.
“What I bring to the game is just toughness,’’ Felton said. “That’s all. Just a guy whose going to bring it every night. You know what you’re going to get out of me every night. If I’m having a bad shooting night, you still know I’m going to play hard and get the job done in other ways.’’
Few fans wear Felton’s No. 2 jersey at the Garden, let alone in road cities, as was custom with Lin last winter. And Felton isn’t looking to trademark his “Duck’’ nickname — his whole family calls him that — anytime soon. In fact, Felton’s so humble, he didn’t have a Twitter account until this month. He has 11,112 followers — or 900,000 less than Lin.
“I think the first go-round he did in a Knick uniform has put him in a different light,’’ coach Mike Woodson said. “It’s a good feeling to come back and put it on again. He’s everything we asked as a point guard. He won in college and he’s had good years in the pros. We put the ball in his hands and trust [he] will make the right decisions.’’
Felton’s name was mud in Portland, where a source said he ballooned to 230 pounds. And he was unpopular with some Knicks fans in mid-July when Knicks brass decided Felton was the better value and fit than Lin for their immediate championship goal. The third and final year of Houston’s revised offer sheet for Lin would have cost the Knicks $45 million when factoring in the luxury tax.
Felton’s three-year pact was worth less than $11 million total. When free agency started July 1, the Carolina native Felton wanted back to the place he never wanted to leave.
“Raymond was born to be a Knick,’’ his agent Tony Dutt told The Post yesterday. “You can see the passion he has for the game and the city. New York was always his first choice. He relates to the city and fans.’’
Twitter followers is one of the few stats Lin beats Felton in to date, although the only numbers that matter to a point guard is won-loss record. Felton hadn’t lost until last night. Lin’s Rockets are 4-5.
Felton is averaging 16.1 points and 6.3 assists compared to Lin’s 10.9 and 6.7. The biggest difference is shooting percentage with Felton at 43.4 percent compared to Lin’s 35.5 percent. Defensively, there is no comparison. It is Lin’s weak spot.
The Knicks would have had no shot at taking out San Antonio as they did in a giant statement win Thursday night without Felton taking control, finishing with a game-high 25 points and seven assists, outplaying Tony Parker in the fourth.
The Knicks will face Lin in Houston in Friday’s showdown. But Thursday’s win in San Antonio meant more to Knicks fans, whipping the perennial powers of the West. Felton, lighter and quicker, wasn’t to be stopped.
“If they give me the layup, I’m going to take it,’’ Felton said. “If they give me the jump shot I’m taking it. If they give me the pass, that’s what I’m going to do.’’
Felton had the pick-and-roll connection with Amar’e Stoudemire in his first go-round before being sent to the Nuggets in the Anthony blockbuster in February 2011. Now with Stoudemire injured, Felton and Chandler have teamed up for a host of alley-oops.
“It can’t be stopped the way we have shooters around the perimeter,’’ Chandler said. ‘It’s kind of like pick your poison.’’
Felton was miserable in Denver after the Anthony trade and even more unhappy last season in Portland. In less than a week, on the day after Thanksgiving, he will meet Lin face-to-face. Knicks fans have plenty to be thankful for already.